Two Kings

"'In a certain space and time, in a land, known to grow a lot of grain, called the Land of Yavadvipa, two Kings met, ' the Courtier, told a story,' said the Moon after saying Basmalah and Salaam. "'The Courtier went on, 'The First King is known as the True King, because the Blue-blood flowing in his body, and his Crown, is a gift to him. While the Second King, known as—to borrow the words of a well-known economist—representative of a ruler who works as a businessman or a businessman who works as a ruler. It is said that his Crown and Throne, gotten from—whether in the right way or not—the election of the entire people.

Rumors has it, that the two Kings were talking about Infrastructure or Megaproject, which was ended by the First King's decree, 'No!' But something strange appeared, after the meeting of two Kings, the Second King immediately issued new rules for an ambitious Megaproject. Could the meeting between the two kings give the impression that the First King approved the project? I don't know what exactly happened, I can only guess, that the True King would say the following things,

First, awkward in movement or action; without skill or grace, is no joke. 

A farmer, went to the stables to see to his beasts of burden; among them was his favorite Ass, that was always well fed and often carried his master. With the farmer, came his Lapdog, who danced about and licked his hand and frisked about. The farmer gave the Lapdog some food, and sat down. The Lapdog jumped into his master’s lap, and lay there while the farmer stroked his ears.

The Ass, seeing this, broke loose from his halter and commenced prancing about in imitation of the Lapdog. The farmer could not hold his sides with laughter, so the Ass went up to him, and attempted to climb into his lap. The farmer’s servants rushed up with sticks and pitchforks and drove the Ass back to the stables. 

Secondly, fooling those trying to fool you is beneficial.

A Lion, who had got old and infirm, saw a fine plump Nag—a horse, particularly an old one or one in poor condition, or, a person who constantly urges, annoys or scolds—and longed for a bit of him. Knowing that the animal would prove too fleet for him in the chase, he had recourse to artifice. He gave out to all the beasts that, having spent many years in studying physic, he was now prepared to heal any malady or distemper with which they might be afflicted. He hoped by that means to get admittance among them, and so find a chance of gratifying his appetite.

The Horse, who had doubts of the Lion’s honesty, came up limping, pretending that he had run a thorn into one of his hind feet, which gave him great pain. The Lion asked that the foot might be shown to him, and pored over it with a mock earnest air. The Horse, slyly looking round, saw that he was preparing to spring, and vigorously sending out both his heels at once, gave the Lion such a kick in the face, that it laid him stunned and sprawling upon the ground. Then laughing at the success of his trick, he trotted merrily away. 

Thirdly, an enemy is most dangerous when offering you help.

A Sow had just farrowed, and lay in the sty with her whole litter of pigs about her. A Wolf who longed for a little one but knew not how to come by it, endeavoured to insinuate herself in the good opinion of the mother. 'How do you find yourself today, Mrs. Sow?' said she. 'A little fresh air would certainly do you great good. Now, do go abroad and air yourself a little, and I will with pleasure mind your young ones till you return.'

'Many thanks for your offer,' replied the Sow. 'I know very well what kind of care you would take of my little ones. If you really wished to be as obliging as you pretend to be, you would not show me your face again!'

Next, about Equality.

A Horse and an Ass were travelling together, the Horse prancing along in its fine trappings, the Ass carrying with difficulty the heavy weight in its panniers. 'I wish I were you,' sighed the Ass, 'nothing to do and well fed, and all that fine harness upon you.'

Next day, however, there was a great battle, and the Horse was wounded to death in the final charge of the day. His friend, the Ass, happened to pass by shortly afterwards and found him on the point of death. 'I was wrong,' said the Ass, 'Better humble security than gilded danger.'

Political philosophers write of three types of Equality. First, democratic societies affirm the principle of equality of political rights—generally including the right to vote, the right to trial by jury, and the right to free speech and association. Secondly, in the 1960s, liberal philosophers espoused the view that people should also have equal economic opportunity. In other words, all people should play by the same rules on a level playing field. All should have equal access to the best schools, training, and jobs. Then discrimination on the basis of race or gender or religion would disappear. Many steps were taken to promote greater equality, but inequalities of opportunity have proved very stubborn.

These two types of equality are increasingly accepted in most advanced democracies.

A third, the most far-reaching ideal, but generally rejected, is equality of economic outcomes. In this utopia, people would have the same consumption whether they were smart or dull, eager or lazy, lucky or unfortunate. Wages would be the same for doctor and nurse, lawyer and secretary. 'From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs' was Karl Marx’s formulation of this philosophy.

Today, even the most radical socialist recognizes that some differences in economic outcome are necessary if the economy is to function efficiently.

Latest news, in the Northern Hemisphere, Islamophobia has been abandoned. One of the definition of Islamophobia is the presumption that Islam is inherently violent, alien, and unassimilable, a presumption driven by the belief that expressions of Muslim identity correlate with a propensity for terrorism. Islamophobia is the modern progeny of Orientalism, a worldview that casts Islam as the civilizational antithesis of the West and that is built upon the core stereotypes and baseline distortions of Islam and Muslims, the popular imagination by Orientalist theory, narratives, and law. Underlying this definition are three dimensions of Islamophobia: private Islamophobia, structural Islamophobia, and dialectical Islamophobia. 

However, in the Southern Hemisphere, in the land of Yavadvipa, Islamophobia is the main selling point. The Second King's heroes, are very diligent selling Islamophobia in their stalls, no matter what it will cause hatred and division of the land. There's a story,

The Sun sought a wife, but people denied the wedding, as sons of the Sun would cause hardship. Imagine, if only one sun was hot, why asking for adding another sun? All agreed, because EVIL OFTEN PROMOTES EVIL.

The courtier ended with, 'May there be a better revival movement, after the Second King, has come out of his place of contemplation,' then, he sang,

Kalau bulan bisa ngomong

[If the moon could talk]

Sayang bulan tak bisa ngomong

[Too bad, the moon can't talk]

Coba kalau bisa ngomong

[When she could talk]

Ia pasti tak akan bohong

[She definitely won't lie]

Tentang cinta, cinta kita

[About love, our love]

Kalau bulan bisa ngomong

[If the moon could talk]

Ada cinta yang terlalu

[There will be excessive love]

Ada rindu yang terlalu

[There will be excessive yearning]

Semua serba terlalu

[Everything excessive]

Padamu, ya, padamu *)

[To you, yeah, to you]

So, the Moon talked, "Uncle Sam's treasurer has raised interest rates, instead of thinking about his Megaproject, has the Second King, pondered about Antipoverty policies? And Allah knows best."

Citations & References:
- Paul A. Samuelson and William Nordhaus, Economics, McGraw Hill
- Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia, University of California Press
- J.B. Rundell, Aesop's Fables, Cassell, Petter and Galpin
- Rev. Geo. Fyler Townsend, M.A., Aesop Fables, George Routledge and Sons
*) "Kalau Bulan Bisa Ngomong" written by Doel Sumbang

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